NEW YORK, May 22, 2012 – ACM, which presents the A.M. Turing Award each year, the highest honor in computing and computer science, will join with the societies that confer two prestigious awards in mathematics to enable these laureates to interact with young researchers from around the world. In an annual forum initiated by the Klaus Tschira Foundation and the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, ACM Turing Award winners as well as recipients of the Abel Prize and the Fields Medal will meet with a select group of highly talented young researchers. The meeting, to be known as the Heidelberg Laureate Forum, is modeled after the annual meetings of Nobel laureates in Lindau, Germany.

ACM Europe Council Chair Fabrizio Gagliardi lauded the opportunity for young researchers to come in contact with prominent innovators in computing. "The relationships that can develop among these groups will benefit both the new generation of researchers and ACM Turing recipients who have been recognized for their achievements. They will have the ability to share ideas, insights, and experiences through formal discussions and informal dialogues, which are essential elements in the collaboration process that sustains computing." Gagliardi will represent ACM at a signing ceremony in Oslo, Norway on May 22 to officially create the Heidelberg Laureate Forum.

"We celebrate this collaboration between the computing and math disciplines and the opportunity to raise awareness of their common threads and indispensable impacts," said Alain Chesnais, ACM President. "We know from our ACM Turing Award program that computing drives innovation, which results in amazing applications that propel economic and social development around the world. These meetings will provide a strong foundation for assuring the next generation of technological advances in the global environment."

The thematic focus of the Heidelberg Laureate Forum will alternate each year between mathematics and computer science. Recipients of the Abel Prize (from the Norwegian Academy for Science and Letters), the Fields Medal (from the International Mathematical Union), and the Turing Award will be invited. The first Heidelberg Forum is scheduled for September 2013, and the second is planned for September 2014. The meetings will be supported by a newly established foundation, the Heidelberg Laureate Forum Foundation, to be created by the Klaus Tschira Foundation.

The ACM A.M Turing Award, widely considered the "Nobel Prize in Computing," carries a $250,000 prize, with financial support provided by Intel Corporation and Google Inc. It is named for the British mathematician Alan M. Turing, whose 100th birthday anniversary will be celebrated in June at the ACM Turing Centenary Celebration that includes 34 past Turing Award winners.

About ACMACM, the Association for Computing Machinery www.acm.org, is the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting computing educators, researchers and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources and address the field’s challenges. ACM strengthens the computing profession’s collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its members by providing opportunities for life-long learning, career development, and professional networking.

About Klaus Tschira FoundationThe Klaus Tschira Stiftung (KTS) is a German foundation which promotes the sciences, mathematics and computer science. HITS (Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies) is the research institute of the Klaus Tschira Foundation. Further information: www.klaus-tschira-stiftung.de; http://www.h-its.org/english/index.php